16.05.14 – 29.06.14
FAT LAB
Has fat got a reputation it doesn't deserve? Do you sit, slouch or sleep more than you stand stroll or sprint? Do you have to be thin to be fit? What are the fads and myths of fat? From health and survival to vanity and gossip -- it's time to embrace this delicious molecule that is essential to life yet a contributing factor to so many deaths.
Curators
Jennifer Fortune - Department of Physiotherapy, School of Medicine, Trinity Biosciences Institute,TCD
Joanne Lysaght - Department of Surgery, School of Medicine,TCD
David Hevey - Department of Psychology,TCD
Laura Twomey - Johann Issartel, School of Health & Human Performance, Faculty of Science and Health, DCU.
Highlights
Exhibits
STARTERS
Waist Taste
Fat around your waist contributes more to heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers, than the fat elsewhere in your body. Sample the simplest way to assess whether you may be carrying excess weight around your middle as we measure your waist circumference (WC).
Testing time: 2 minutes
Essential STARTER if you wish to order ‘Inflammatory Fat’ from the SPECIALS menu
The FAT Platter
5-in-1 starter combo using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Your data contributes to real research on some of the ways our bodies use fat.
What’s in the platter?
Weight: Measure your mass in kilograms (kg).
Body Fat%: The amount of body fat as a proportion of your body weight.
Visceral Fat Rating: A rating between 1–59 of the fat that is in the internal abdominal cavity surrounding the vital organs.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The minimum daily level of energy your body needs to function effectively, when at rest. Approximately 70% of calories consumed daily are used for BMR.
Body Mass Index (BMI): Index of weight-to-height (kg/metre2) to classify underweight, overweight and obesity.
Testing time: 5 minutes
Essential STARTER if you wish to order any of our MAINS or SPECIALS
The Pulsation Platter
2-in-1 dish: Your data from a wristband blood pressure monitor will contribute to several research projects, each looking at the different roles of fat in our bodies.
What’s in the platter?
Heart Rate (HR): How many times is your heart beating per minute? Heart rate varies to meet your body’s physical needs, including the need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide.
Testing time: 3 minutes
Recommended STARTER if you wish to order any of our MAINS or SPECIALS
Available at the Bar
MAINS
Three Piece Suit
Feast your eyes on this bariatric training suit designed to develop skills and techniques for medical staff to manage obese patients. The suit (arms, legs and torso) mimics the proportions, shape and movement of a bariatric patient, allowing the wearer to experience the mobility restrictions such patients experience. Try on the suit and feel the effect of extra weight on your body.
Activity Addict
Are you a speedy spud or a couch potato? Do you sit, slouch or sleep more than you stand, stroll or sprint? Dip into the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and contribute to FAT research.
Testing time: 10 minutes
Goes well with: Heavy On My Mind
Available at the Bar
FAT Fingers?
Are you heavy handed? Will your fingers flounder? And is fat at fault? Challenge your fine motor skills and fluency of your handwriting in this experiment investigating the correlation between speed and accuracy with age, gender and BMI.
Testing time: 20 minutes
BMI measurement required to order this test
Apple or Pear
What shape are you in? What shape would like to be in? Do you avoid thinking about it? Sink your teeth into discovering how perception of body shape compares to actual BMI and waist circumference.
Testing time: 7 minutes
BMI measurement required to order this test
BUFFET
Obeast
Savour this series of works from US-based artist Rachel Herrick and the Museum for Obeast Conservation Studies (MOCS), which satirises the fat stigma created and perpetuated throughout culture and the media.
Messages Bag
A handbag created by, Susie Freeman and Liz Lee, and representing the variety of diet pills and other medication used to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome.
ATP Synthase
Sculptural representation of an important enzyme within mitochondria which helps generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — the energy currency of the cell. Created by artist Colin Rennie.
Pig Heads and Poitín
Installation of animal fat in alcohol, by Michelin star chef Kevin Thornton. Time and temperature controlled, watch this preservation experiment marinate over the course of FAT, then taste the results in a FAT feast finale.
Human Fat in the Larder
An installation featuring human fat removed from a patient who has undergone a ‘tummy tuck’ surgical procedure.
The Lean and Large of it
CT and PET scans highlighting differences in fat distribution between obese and non-obese patients taken as part of studies aiming to outline new obesity cut-off measurements.
A Cruel Kindness
A 1967 film made by the British Medical Association and the "British Medical Association and the British Life Assurance Trust for Health Education, UK. Aimed at mothers, it addresses themes about ‘puppy fat’, genetic determinism, and childhood obesity.
Making Soap
Installation by Miami-based artist Orestes De La Paz which explores objectification of the body. This work documents the artist undergoing liposuction surgery and making soap from the fat retrieved.
Out in the Cold
Maps, medals and medical records from the Dingle-based cold water swimmer Nuala Moore, whose extreme sporting endeavours and achievements prove that you do not have to be thin to be fit.
DESERT
Blubber Bowl
Dip your fingers into this dish of ice and lard to experience the effect of fat as an insulator for the warm-blooded mammal in you.
Fat—Sweet—Fat
Do you have a sweet tooth or a love for lipids? Try this simple test to demonstrate fat in the food you crave.
Powerhouse
A serving of mitochondria burning up different fats and sugars (limited availability).
The Melting Pot
Saturate your mind with melting, mixing, freezing and thawing an array of fats to find out all about melting points, structure and appearance of fats.
Milk and Soap
Investigate the hydrophobic nature of fatty acids and see an emulsion manifest in an explosion of colour on a plate.
WAT about BAT
Take a microscopic look to find out what is WAT. Learn about the function of brown and white adipose tissue, thermogenesis and energy stores.
Flaming Fat
Discover the link between whale fat and candle wax, then see for yourself how long different fats burn for and why, by replacing wax with lipids, lards and oils.
SPECIALS
Heavy On My Mind
Is your fat intake weighing your brain down? How is your food fuel choice affecting your respiration rate and your body’s energy supply? Test out how fit you are and find out how many calories you’re really burning. Get a taste of a memory task to assess if there is any link between your BMI, fitness level and cognitive function.
Testing Time: 30 minutes
Complimentary Test: Activity Addict
BMI measurement required to order this test
Canopé
A pair of art deco arm chairs by artist Gina Czarnecki, re-upholstered and filled with waxlike substance made from rendered fat, and which softens up with body heat and moulds to the contours of the body.
Please wait to be seated
Biomarkers and BMI
How ‘sticky’ are your platelets? How does this connect with your BMI, fitness and health? This blood test looks at your platelet reactivity and reveals what your platelets look like in real time.
Testing Time: 25 minutes
BMI measure and blood sample required to order this test
Making Soap
Artist Orestes De La Paz had liposuction and made soap from the fat collected. He invites visitors to take part in a hand-washing ritual with the soap made from his own body fat.
Opening weekend only
Inflammatory Fat
Is there a link between visceral fat and cancer? Donate a blood sample to ongoing research investigating the link between fat packed around the internal abdominal area and the functioning of your immune cells.
Testing Time: 10 minutes
Limited orders: Over 50's only
Waist circumference measure and blood sample required to order this test